Sonu Nigam Posts Video of Azaan from His Home, Sparks Controversy Yet Again

Sonu Nigam tweeted a video of the sounds of azaan being heard from his home in an attempt to prove his earlier statements against the use of loudspeakers for religious purposes.

Sonu Nigam courted controversy again when he posted a 2-minute video, presumably from his house, in which azaan can be heard. The video was possibly in response to all those who questioned if he could even hear the sounds of the Muslim call to prayer from his home, after Nigam publicly spoke out against the disturbance caused by the use of loudspeakers for religious purposes.

Sonu captioned the video, “Good morning India,” although it appears to have been shot either late evening or very early morning since it is dark.

The singer attracted controversy when he complained against the use of loudspeakers for religious purposes on April 17. His tweets were seen as insensitive and even prompted a cleric to announce a Rs 10 lakh reward for anyone who could shave Sonu’s head and garland him with shoes.

Several of his contemporaries took stands against his opinion. Actor Kangana Ranaut, while defending his freedom of expression, said that she loves the sound of azaan. This was backed up by Javed Akhtar, who said that religion shouldn’t disturb anyone. Singers Shaan and Kailash Kher, however, supported Sonu. As did self-proclaimed film critic Kamaal Rashid Khan, who offered him the opportunity to compose every song for his next movie (KRK hasn’t made a movie since his 2008 film Deshdrohi), were he to be shunned from Bollywood.

On April 19, Sonu organised a press conference to document the shaving of his head. The controversy also led to public protests, and in one isolated incident, the stabbing of a man who supported the singer on Facebook.

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